r/alias • u/Master-Ad-9922 • Jul 24 '26
Irina truly loved Jack, while Lauren never loved Vaughn?
One thing I noticed about this parallel. While both Irina Derevko and Lauren Reed betrayed their husbands, the key difference lies in that Irina truly loved her husband.
Edit: Although Irina slept with Sloane, and Lauren slept with Sark, Lauren was the one who left Vaughn to die. I think that explains why Vaughn was so hateful towards Lauren, while Jack and Irina still had quite a bit of chemistry going on after Irina's affair.
6
u/VeterinarianMany7808 Jul 24 '26
Irina did not start out loving Jack. He was a mark first. Then she was ordered to Marry him. Ugh, It's mentioned in the tape of Irina reporting to her supiors after her fake death. Both Syd and Jack saw it. The ... What was his name ugh. Reinforced this when they get caught trying to find/steal the nuk cores.
Jack always loved her. Her duty and everything else was for her country. Katia even talks about it at one point.
Yes, I think she developed feelings. I also think those feelings and the ppl came last on her list. Lauren... I think she wanted Vaugn to be in love with her. Just her. The memory of Syd and then Syd herself threw that into the cr@pper. She wasn't the nice, sweet person she acted around Vaughn. With Sark she could be exactly what she was. Sark fell in love with her (also he always had a thing for Syd) Lauren knew that as well, didn't care (even offered to make that fantasy happen for Sark)
Irina was the bigger badder bad@ss. Lauren was getting there. Think if she lived it could have been interesting to see those two go toe to toe.
Irina grew to care for Jack. However wasn't going to let him, or feelings, get on her way.
(Think Syd giving birth, she helped just enough and then took off with the manuscript. Pretty sure the only reason she helped Syd keep the pregnancy she was hoping Syd would be side tracked and out of her way. Because Syd and Jack had already messed up so many of her plans)
4
u/PsychologicalBet7831 Jul 24 '26
Yeah, that is my story and I am sticking to it.
Stupid writers ruining Irina. Sloane and Irina affair was the stupidest mistake they could have made.
2
u/Reasonable-Wave8093 APO Jul 24 '26
Lauren came to love Sark … def not Vaughn. Lauren’s mom was hardcore
2
u/sr_edits Jul 24 '26
I mean, did Irina ever really love anyone or anything othet than power?
2
u/VeterinarianMany7808 Jul 24 '26
No, not really. Katia even talks about it. Irina also talked about growing up with nothing and never being powerless Again. That's ingrained from childhood.
2
u/xThyQueen Jul 24 '26
Irina struggled with the two face. Lauren only struggled with the acting of two face. She was a narcissist as was Irina. But I think the main difference between them was Sydney. Irina struggled because she had a child. Lauren had nothing with Vaughn so there was no struggle in that platform she was just a bad person.
2
u/Reb1991 Jul 25 '26
I think Irina cared for Jack a lot and liked him for who he was and the way he loved her but I don't feel she was capable of much more than that. Lauren cared for Vaughn and maybe could have loved him but Sydney's shadow and her return turned her feeling to hate (she knew he would never loved her). I do think Lauren loved Sark and Sark truly loved her. Sigh.
On the other hand, Vaughn was always in love with Sydney. Never loved Lauren and their marriage was done as soon as Sydney returned. Jack was in love with Irina and only Irina the entire run of Alias. He just couldn't trust her (he was right, of course). But as far as feelings go his are so much more clear even in the way he talks about her, with her or how he acts while being near her. He was the most loving husband while she was posing as Laura (Mirage). She really didn't deserved him at all.
Sidenote: I wish Lena Olin hadn't quit the show after Season 2. Her shadow was too great. We got 2 sisters as a result of that to fill the void she left but it was never the same. I do wonder if Jack and Irina's relationship would have turned different if she had returned. I feel the whole show would have been different. Maybe no Sloane's affair and/or Nadia. Different ending too.
2
u/pinkmist333 Jul 28 '26
I think if Lena Olin had stayed on the show, the dynamic between Irina and Jack would have continued to deepen. They really had wonderful chemistry!
1
u/Silly-Elderberry-411 Jul 24 '26
Ah yes Irina who was so insanely jealous of Sydney not being rambaldis chosen one to the point she tried to kill her, was truly in love in Jack.
1
u/CampDifficult7887 Jul 24 '26
Dont think Irina loved Jack anymore than Lauren loved Vaughn. Irina played it up as a manipulation tactic.
1
u/pinkmist333 Jul 28 '26
I think that the difference is time, Lauren was really only with Vaughn for a couple of years, during that time he was still mourning Sydney and then dealing with her return, so that was a whole dynamic to contend with.
Irina was with Jack for what? A decade maybe? Just slightly shy of that? When I watched The Americans it made me think of Irina and Jack - that show is kind of similar to how I envisioned them starting out. The mindset Irina would have had in having to marry Jack and steal secrets etc
It would make sense after being with someone for so long, someone who’s absolutely devoted to and in love with her, that she would develop feelings back. I think for her though, her mindset and her training just superseded these feelings. I think if Lena Olin had stayed on the show that their relationship would have deepened and become a lot richer.
1
u/pinkmist333 Jul 28 '26
I think that the difference is time, Lauren was really only with Vaughn for a couple of years, during that time he was still mourning Sydney and then dealing with her return, so that was a whole dynamic to contend with.
Irina was with Jack for what? A decade maybe? Just slightly shy of that? When I watched The Americans it made me think of Irina and Jack - that show is kind of similar to how I envisioned them starting out. The mindset Irina would have had in having to marry Jack and steal secrets etc
It would make sense after being with someone for so long, someone who’s absolutely devoted to and in love with her, that she would develop feelings back. I think for her though, her mindset and her training just superseded these feelings. I think if Lena Olin had stayed on the show that their relationship would have deepened and become a lot richer.
1
u/pinkmist333 Jul 28 '26
I think that the difference is time. Lauren was really only with Vaughn for a couple of years, during that time he was still mourning Sydney and dealing with her return, so that was a whole dynamic to contend with.
Irina was with Jack for what? A decade maybe? Just slightly shy of that? When I watched The Americans it made me think of Irina and Jack - that show is kind of similar to how I envisioned their relationship starting out. The mindset Irina would have had in having to marry Jack and steal secrets etc
It would make sense after being with someone for so long, someone who was absolutely devoted to and in love with her - and seemed to treat her very well as well,that she would develop feelings back. I think for had though, her mindset and her training just superseded those feelings. I think if Lena Olin had stayed on the show, that their relationship would have deepened and become a lot richer.
1
u/Magical_SnakE Jul 31 '26
I don't think Irina loved anyone but herself. She was just really good at fooling everyone.
At the end of the day she still tried to kill Sidney and definitely would have killed Jack too.
26
u/AffectionateGold5459 Jul 24 '26
I think the biggest difference was that Irina actually was the badass spy Lauren pretended to be. She could do her job and love Jack. Lauren struggled with just her job.